The Search for Mew
by Raichu316
Summary: Ash, Misty and Brock (along with their new friend Michelle) search for the Ledgendary Pokemon Mew. Raichu might just appear in the upcoming chapters. I am a Raichu fan afterall. ;) This story is now completely finished!
1. The Story of Mew

Disclaimer: The characters Ash, Misty, Brock and all of the Pokemon are copyrighted by GameFreak, Nintendo, and Pokemon Inc. I did not create them.  
  
  
  
  
Chapter One: The Story of Mew  
  
  
It was a bright sunny day in Jonto as our heroes Ash, Misty and Brock head towards Blackthorn City. As always Ash is determined to win his eighth badge, the rising badge. The trio was using an old dirt path that Ash had chosen as a short cut to the city. The path had led them to a wide, open meadow. As Ash continued to talk about his badges, Misty and Brock were enjoying the peaceful atmosphere of the running stream that flowed next to the road and the warmth of the bright sun which hung high in the cloudless sky.   
  
"I can't wait until we get to the city!" Ash began to shout. "I'm just so excited I just can't hold it in." Ash began to jump and down.  
  
"Pi Pikachu." Watching Ash was exciting Pikachu.  
  
"Ash you better settle down or you might wear yourself out by the time we get to the Gym." Misty suggested as she followed behind Ash.  
  
"Misty is right." Brock agreed. "You'll need all that energy for the battle. I hear the Gym leader is tough to beat."  
  
"You think so?" Ash stopped and looked at Brock. He then looked at Pikachu. "Ha, I'll bet he's not so tough!" Ash started getting excited again. "Well, beat him and get the badge, right Pikachu?"  
  
Pikachu nodded. "Pikachu!"  
  
They proceeded down the dirt path until Brock peered at the stream and suddenly stopped.  
  
"What's the matter Brock?" Misty asked as Ash quickly turned toward them.  
  
"Hey guys, do you see what I see?" Brock whispered to his friends as he pointed over to the stream.  
  
The group spotted a small blue Pokemon drinking from the stream. It had its back turned toward them so it didn't see the approaching strangers.  
  
"Oh wow, what is that?" Ash asked as he pulled out his Pokedex.  
  
The Pokedex had revealed that the small blue Pokemon was a Phanpy.  
  
"So that's a Phanpy." Brock whispered. "I have heard of them, but I have never seen one before."  
  
"It's so cute," Misty said as Togepi peered from her pack, awakened from all the noise outside. "But not as cute as you Togepi."  
  
"I could always use a new Pokemon!" Ash said as he quickly raced down to the stream.   
  
Within seconds Phanpy heard pounding footsteps behind it and it quickly spun around to see it's attacker.  
  
"Pikachu, go!" Ash ordered as Pikachu leaped unto action. "Pikachu, thundershock!"  
  
As Pikachu charged its electricity Phanpy leaped into the air, curled up into a little ball and rolled toward Pikachu. As it came closer to Pikachu, Pikachu released a huge blast of electricity towards the Phanpy. It struck Phanpy hard yet to Ash's surprise it had little effect.   
  
"Thunder shock isn't working!" Ash cried out as Phanpy advanced toward Pikachu, rolling faster. "Quick Pikachu get out of the way!"  
  
Pikachu barely dodged the Phanpy's attack. While it was still rolling Phanpy made a U-turn and rolled toward Pikachu again.  
  
"Pikachu, try to slow it down with a tackle attack!" Ash commanded as Pikachu and Phanpy charged toward each other. Despite the power of Pikachu's tackle, Phanpy was obviously stronger and as it struck Pikachu it tossed the mouse Pokemon back toward Ash. "Come on Pikachu, you can do it!"  
  
Pikachu attempted to get up, but it was too weak to stand and it collapsed at Ash's feet. Ash picked up Pikachu and gave it a gentle hug. "You did a great job Pikachu. You deserve a rest." Ash handed Pikachu to Misty and then turned back towards Phanpy. Phanpy stopped rolling and faced Ash.  
  
"That Phanpy obviously has an advantage over electric types if that low leveled Pokemon was able to beat Pikachu." Brock said.   
  
"What's with the rolling?" Ash asked as he continued to ponder over with Pokemon to chose next.  
  
"That must have been Phanpy's rollout attack!" Brock shouted out to Ash. "But I'm not entirely sure."  
  
"Okay then," Ash reached for another Pokemon and tossed it into the air. "I choose you, Bulbasaur!" Bulbasaur appeared. "Bulbasaur, use your vine whip!"  
  
"Bulba." Bulbasaur stretched out its vine whip towards Phanpy as Phanpy leaped up and charged at Bulbasaur with its rollout attack. Bulbasaur tried to whip Phanpy, but it was too quick and dodged the attack by rolling side by side.  
  
"Bulbasaur look out!" Bulbasaur jumped into the air before Phanpy could hit it. Bulbasaur quickly landed and turned towards Phanpy. Once again, Phanpy made another U-turn and charged again. "Razor leaf attack!"  
  
Bulbasaur released a half of a dozen razor leaves toward Phanpy. Phanpy tried to dodge them like the vine whip, but there was too many of them. Phanpy was tossed off balance when the razor leaves struck against it and it was tossed aside.  
  
"Now, finish it was a tackle attack!" Ash ordered as Bulbasaur charged toward the weak Phanpy.  
  
Before Bulbasaur could tackle it a loud, voice cried out in the distance. "Stop it!" The voice shouted.  
  
Bulbasaur stopped in its tracks as the trio looked up across the stream. A young girl was running across the meadow towards them. She leaped into the water and waded across. When she finally reached them she stopped by the Phanpy.   
  
"Are you okay, Phanpy?" The girl said as Phanpy looked up at her.   
  
"Phan." Phanpy answered.  
  
"Thank goodness." The girl kissed Phanpy and then looked up at the trainers. "How could you attack my poor innocent little Phanpy like that?!"   
  
"I'm sorry I didn't know that this Phanpy had a trainer." Ash apologized.   
  
Brock pushed Ash out of the way. "I had a feeling that this sweet little Pokemon had a great and beautiful trainer!" Brock flirted. "This Pokemon is obviously highly skilled which means it had to have a strong trainer." Brock gazed into her eyes. "And it appears I was right."  
  
"Um…" The girl was too nervous to say anything.  
  
Brock stepped up to her and held her hands. "This Phanpy is incredibly healthy. Why don't you and me continue this discussion over an incredibly romantic dinner?"  
  
Before Brock could say another word and before the girl could answer, Misty once again grabbed Brock's ear and dragged him away. "Would you stop scaring her!" Misty said.  
  
Ash walked up to the girl. "Really, I'm truly sorry. If I knew that this Pokemon had a trainer I never would have tried to catch it."  
  
"It's alright I guess." The girl pulled a Pokeball out of her pocket and called her Pokemon back. "I let Phanpy out so it could have some fresh air. I guess I got a little distracted, because when I turned around my Phanpy was gone. This little one likes to run off."  
  
"It sure was a cute little thing." Ash held out his hand. "My name is Ash."  
  
The girl grabbed and shook his hand. "Pleased to meet you. My name is Michelle."  
  
Brock finally got away from Misty and hopped in front of Michelle. "I knew a beautiful girl like you would have such a beautiful name." Brock tried to hold her hand again, but Michelle was able to pull her hand away. Despite of this Brock continued. "Dare I ask, why is such a beautiful girl like you doing way out here all by herself?"  
  
"Well, actually I'm on a search for a legendary Pokemon." Michelle answered as she walked back away from Brock.  
  
"Really, what kind of legendary Pokemon?" Ash asked as Misty stepped up to hear better. Brock was still in the same position lost in his own little world.  
  
"Mew," Michelle had answered.  
  
"Mew?" Ash and Misty questioned. They looked at each other puzzled.  
  
Brock finally came back to reality when he heard the name. "What kind of Pokemon is a Mew?"  
  
"Well," Michelle walked closer to the edge of the stream Her red hair shined in the sun as her sapphire eyes fixed into the water. Her blue jeans were stained with grass marks and her red tang top showed signs of wear. This girl was, without doubt, the athletic type. She continued to answer their question. "It's a very powerful Pokemon that was said, by scientists and explorers, to be extinct." She sat down on the grass.  
  
Ash and the other walked up and sat next to her. "If Mew is suppose to be extinct then why are you out here looking for it?" Ash asked as he tossed a small pebble that he had found next to him into the water.  
  
"That's what the so-called experts say." She explained. "I believe other wise."  
  
The trio was quiet as Michelle began to tell her story.  
  
"When I was a little girl my grandfather use to tell me a bedtime story of a small legendary Pokemon, Mew. Every night he used to describe the power that this mysterious Pokemon had and of the things this Pokemon could do!"  
  
"But how did he know if no one had ever seen one?" Misty asked as she set Togepi down so it could play with Pikachu.  
  
"My father has." Michelle explained. " One cloudy day my grandfather was in the mountains checking on a distress call that he had received through his radio. You see my grandfather use to be the ranger of Blackthorn National Park and he had to go out whenever he got a call for help. This call was a minor incident. A family's car got stuck in the snow as they were driving down the mountain on their way home. As they were driving down they came across a huge blizzard that just came up from no where without warning. There was too much snow for the car to move so it stuck. My father was traveling up the mountain when the blizzard hit and it struck him hard. The wind was really intense and it was freezing cold. My father tried to make it to the family, but because of the temperature and force of the wind he collapsed into the snow. His body had become so numb that he couldn't move. He thought he was a goner, but as he turned to look up at the sky he saw a little pink ball of light floating toward him. As the light grew closer a small figure started to take shape. He said it was small and white and that it looked much like a Kangaroo mouse with its large feet and long tail. The small Pokemon began to glow a bright pink and then as the light spread around him a huge flash of light exploded in front of his eyes. When he opened them he found himself at the bottom of the Mountain by the radio tower. He was surprised at the fact that he was able to get up and move." Michelle paused for a moment. "Ever since then my grandfather had believed that the little Pokemon had transported him to safety. He spent the rest of his days dedicated to finding this Pokemon. In his search he ran across some writings about an extinct Pokemon. The photo that was attached to the report showed the same image of what the Pokemon was said to look like. Even though the image was very distorted my grandfather didn't have any doubts to the fact that the Pokemon that he saw was, in fact, the extinct Pokemon Mew."  
  
Misty interrupted with another question. "But why didn't you Grandfather tell scientists about this?"  
  
"Oh he did." Michelle answered. "But no one believed him. He had no scientific proof or evidence of any kind. All he had was his word and that wasn't enough for them. The researchers and scientists belittled him to the point where he became the laughing stock to the whole city of Blackthorn." Michelle started to finish her story. "He died about a year ago with the reputation of being completely insane for his story instead praised for the greatness of his discovery."  
  
"But you still believe." Brock said.  
  
"I know it exists." Michelle said as she looked up at the mountains where the story had taken place. "And I will not stop searching until I find it and bring back evidence to help recover my Grandfathers reputation."  
  
"That's so sweet." Misty said as she picked up Togepi and gave it a hug. "Your grandfather really must have been great."  
  
"Yes, but no matter where I look I simply can not find this Pokemon." Michelle finally stood up and began walking away.  
  
Ash had an idea. He jumped up and ran towards Michelle. "Wait," he shouted as he placed his hand on her shoulder. "We'll help you find it."  
  
Misty looked at Brock and then back at Michelle. "Of course we will. I would love to see this thing."  
  
"You mean you guys believe me?" Michelle asked.  
  
"Of course we do. And we want to help you find it and bring back the proof of its existence." Brock said as he and Misty stepped up to Ash and Michelle.  
  
"Wow, that's wonderful. Thank you all!" Michelle signed as the four of them, including Pikachu, stared up that the mountains. "And I know the first place to start our search.  
  
  
  
  
  
Note: I do know that the Gym leader is a girl. Ash doesn't know though. 


	2. Let the Search Begin

Disclaimer: The characters Ash, Misty, Brock and all of the Pokemon are copyrighted by GameFreak, Nintendo, and Pokemon Inc. I did not create them.  
  
  
  
  
Chapter Two: Let the Search Begin!  
  
  
The sun was getting ready to set as the group finally made it to their destination. Michelle had led them to the old tower where her Grandfather once worked. It looked like a small log cabin that was decaying away with age. It was about fifteen feet off the ground and it was being supported by a number of wooden beams. The whole idea of going in made Misty very nervous.  
  
"Ever since the death of a hiker which was about a six months ago the authorities shut this place down. My father has been out of a job since." Michelle explained as they walked up the stairs and approached the entrance.   
  
"Wow, this Mountain must be dangerous." Misty said as the stopped and looked up at it while the others were stepping into the tower. Misty then realized that she was all alone and dashed inside to join the others.  
  
It was extremely dark and there was an old musty smell that hung in the air. A light flashed on as Ash, Misty and Brock saw Michelle lighting up and old oil lamp with her pocket lighter. Michelle picked up the lamp by the handle and started surveying the cabin. It was very small. There were three tiny rooms. The one that was to the right of the entrance appeared to be a small office. To the left there was a supply room and to the back there was a small library of books. There was a large table in the middle of the entrance room, there was a heater in the far corner, and there were many other little odds and ends including tons of paper work. Ash followed Michelle around as Misty and Brock, along with Pikachu, wandered around searching on their own using Brock's pocket flashlight for a light source. Togepi followed pretty much everybody around and played with everything in sight and in reach.   
  
"Over here is where my Grandfather's office was." Michelle led Ash over to the right. "There has got to be something in here that can help us."  
  
Michelle started pulling open file cabinet doors, flipped through the dividers and investigated stacks and stacks of papers. Ash was looking around a wooden desk and fumbled through the drawers finding little knickknacks. Without much luck, the two flipped through all the books her Grandfather had on the shelves thinking at maybe he was hiding something in one of them so no one would see it.   
  
Just as they were beginning to lose hope Brock came racing in, waving something in his hand, with Misty dragging her feet behind.   
  
"I think you two should see these." Brock said as he handed a large yellow envelope to Michelle. Michelle set down the lamp on the desk and examined the outside markings. It looked like someone wrote something on the envelope with a pencil and then attempted to erase it. Michelle ripped through the seal and pull out a couple of stiff pieces of paper.  
  
The group huddled together to take a good look at what Michelle had in her hand. They were photographs of several different places. There was an ocean picture that was by Cianwood, a picture of a building from Goldenrod City, and some trees from the Ilex Forest. Even though there was quite a variation in the locations the place that had the most images was Blackthorn City.   
  
"These are pretty pictures," Michelle said. "But they don't seem to help much."  
  
Brock leaned in next to Michelle. "Take a closer look," Brock said as he picked up the lamp from the table and held it up to brighten the photographs.  
  
Michelle could not believe what she saw. She quickly shuffled through the photos making sure she wasn't just seeing things. There was a little glowing ball of light hovering somewhere in each and every picture. Unfortunately, the pictures were printed in black and white so it really didn't help them recognize whether or not the light was pink.  
  
"This just might help us after all." Michelle's hopes were growing and she was getting a bit excited with what was found.  
  
  
Little did the group know right outside there were two figures peeking in (up side down) the window from the top of the roof. One of them sat up and brushed her long red hair out of her face.   
  
"Just think about it, James." The girl said. "There might actually be an extinct Pokemon that is not extinct at all."  
  
The other guy with the blue hair then sat up and looked at his partner. "That's right Jess." He began to ponder. "Imagine the reward the boss would give to us if we brought him an extinct Pokemon."  
  
"We would easily get rich for sure." Jesse said.  
  
"But how are we going to find a Pokemon like that?"  
  
Jesse smiled at James and answered, "We won't have to. We will let the twerp and his friends find it and when they do we'll take it from them!"  
  
James smiled along with her. "What a great idea. This way we don't have to hardly lift a finger to steal a Pokemon."  
  
A little furry Pokemon hopped over to them. "Come on you guys we better get planning if we are going to steal anything." It said as it jumped on James's back to get his attention. "Now lets get going." Meowth jumped off and then started climbing down the rope they had used to get on top of the tower.   
  
"Meowth is right," Jesse said as she grabbed James by the collar and dragged him down the tower following Meowth.  
  
Back inside the tower Michelle studied the pictures.  
  
"Are you sure there were nothing else?" Michelle asked Brock.  
  
Brock thought about it for a second. "Besides a few empty Pokeballs, a few Pokemon Reference books and a case of Evolution Stones, um, no."  
  
"Evolution stones?" Ash asked in wonder.  
  
"Yeah, my grandfather has a large collection of Evolution Stones. He was into collecting things and those just happen to be one of them." Michelle answered Ash.  
  
Misty spotted Togepi tugging on a tablecloth and fearing the fact that the stuff on the table could fall on it she quickly picked Togepi up and held it in her arms. "So what are we going to do now?" She asked as she refused to let Togepi go, despite it's struggling to get away.  
  
"Well, you know what I think?" Michelle began to say as the others listened intently. "I think that we should climb up the mountain and see if there are any clues."  
  
"Great idea!" Brock shouted.  
  
"And I think that a few of us should stay here while myself and another person," she glances at Ash, "will go."  
  
"Great idea!" Brock shouted again.  
  
"Now who should go with me?" Michelle asked to herself out loud.  
  
"ME!" Brock shouted as he jumped and raised his hand.  
  
"I would go, but Togepi might get sick from the cold so I can't." Misty said.  
  
"Okay so you can't go." Michelle said. "Now let's see I might need someone really strong." Michelle started to pace back and forth.  
  
"ME!" Brock started to wave his hand from side to side.   
  
"Someone who is brave and can handle the trip." Michelle said.  
  
"ME ME ME ME ME!" Brock was going crazy at this point. He was jumping up and down and he waved his hand so hard Misty was sure it would soon rip off his shoulder and fly across the room.  
  
"Brock would you..?" Michelle started but before she could say anything more Brock interrupted.  
  
"Yes, yes yes anything!" Brock answered swiftly as he grabbed her hands and gazed into her eyes.  
  
"Would you stay here and watch Misty, Pikachu and Togepi as Ash and I go look for clues?" Michelle asked.  
  
Brock's huge grin spun around to reveal a huge frown. He let go of her hands and answered in a low disappointing voice, "I will."  
  
"Great thanks a bunch," Michelle gave Brock a little peck on the cheek and skipped away toward the other side of the tower, opposite of the office.  
  
Brock's face turned bright red. "I knew it, she likes me!" The size of Brock's new grin started to scare Misty so she walked away to help Michelle. Ash just smiled at Pikachu and Pikachu smiled back.  
  
While the too boy were over by the heater attempting to turn it on, the two girls were packing some supplies for Michelle and Ash to use on their little hike. Michelle walked in just as Ash finally figure out how to light the heater. "Well, Ash you ready to go?"  
  
"Yeah sure." Ash answered back as Pikachu tugged on Ash's pants. "Don't worry Pikachu I'll be fine."  
  
Misty handed Ash the small backpack. "Be careful." She said as she walked away and stood beside Brock.  
  
"Don't worry guys. It's just a little hike up a mountain. It's nothing to worry about." Ash stepped out of the tower after Michelle opened the door.  
  
"See ya guys later," Michelle called back as he shut the door behind her.   
  
Brock decided that he better began cooking dinner for that night as he took out his cooking utensils and began to work and Misty played with the two Pokemon.  
  
Michelle and Ash walked down the stairs and started to head towards the mountain when a strong, stern, male voice called out from behind them. They spun around to see a large man walking towards them.  
"Where are you going?" The man waved at Michelle.  
  
Michelle waved and smiled back. "Hello daddy!"   
  
Michelle's father caught up with them and glanced at the load they were carrying. He was a tall man. He had a small scruffy beard which was about as white as the snow around them. It also looked as if he hadn't changed his clothes in a month. Her father repeated his question. "Where are you going?"  
  
"On a little hike." Michelle answered.  
  
"What? Don't tell me your still wasting your time with some mans crazy ideas are you Mickey?"   
  
Michelle blushed. She hated it when her father would call her by her baby name. "Well, actually yeah. My friend Ash and I are going up there to see if we can find anything."  
  
"I can't stand watching you waste your time on something as stupid and worthless as this. I came here to tell you that your mother and I think you should be spending your time doing something of value." He crossed his arms.  
  
"This is valuable. This is my chance to discover a living Pokemon that is believed to be extinct and to have a chance to prove Granddaddy was right!"  
  
"This is a waste.." he began to say but Michelle interrupted.   
  
"This is what I believe in and I'm standing by it until I can prove to this whole stupid city that my Grandfather discovered a rare Pokemon." Michelle started to walk away from him.  
  
"Mickey don't do this!" Her father shouted after her. Michelle continued to walk away towards the mountain as Ash followed behind.  
  
"You'll see. You're just wasting your time!" Her father watched as she and Ash disappeared into the trees that surrounded the mountain and out of sight.  
  
Ash and Michelle were silent for a few minutes until Michelle spoke up. "I'll show him. I'll find this Pokemon and I'll show him. I'll show them all!"  
  
Ash nodded in agreement as the two began their rough journey up the large snowy mountain that, Michelle believed, held the secrets to finding the legendary Mew. 


	3. The Blackthorn Mountain Trail

Disclaimer: The characters Ash, Misty, Brock and all of the Pokemon are copyrighted by GameFreak, Nintendo, and Pokemon Inc. I did not create them.  
  
  
  
  
Chapter Three: The Blackthorn Mountain Trail  
  
  
  
During the first part of their hike Ash and Michelle hiked through a thick and dense forest. The closer they came to the mountain the colder the air became. Michelle walked closer and closer to Ash little at a time. Her excuse was she was cold and it was warmer if they stayed close together. Once they got to the actual climbing Michelle took lead as Ash followed behind. The snow was pretty deep at the base of the mountain. It was so deep that it when Ash stepped into it the snow would come up a bit past his ankles. Michelle, being about the same height as Ash, (maybe an inch or two taller) had no trouble at all with the deepness because she had climbed up this mountain many times before so she had some experience in climbing. They hiked for about a mile until they finally reached the base of the slope.  
  
"So what exactly are we looking for?" Ash asked as they stopped so Michelle could get out some supplies.  
  
Michelle pulled out a long rope and started tying it around her waste. "I really don't know Ash. I never had known what I was looking for when I go up here. Maybe that why I never find anything." Michelle paused for a split second. "I guess I'm just hoping to find anything that might be the trail or foot print or even a claw mark of Mew." Michelle handed the other side of the rope to Ash. "Here tie this around your waste."  
  
"What is this for?" Ash asked as he took the rope from her and began to tie it.   
  
"This is just in case one of us slips." Michelle answered as she reached in and took out a small ice axe and handed it to Ash. She then took one out for herself. "Like if you slipped, then I could help you regain your balance."  
  
"Oh, okay." Ash answered. With all this talk about slipping down the mountain Ash wished that he had brought Bulbasaur or Chickorita, but he had left all of his Pokeballs behind. He even left Pikachu.  
  
"I'm also hoping that maybe we might be able to find," Michelle paused for a second again as she put her mouth up to Ash's ear. "That maybe we can actually find Mew itself." Michelle pulled her head away and winked at Ash. "Of course what are the chances of that." Michelle sighed. "Ready to go?"  
  
"Ready." Ash answered as Michelle and Ash began to trudge up the mountain.  
  
The snow was getting a little lighter the higher and steeper they climbed. Ash really tried to help with the climbing, but Ash couldn't seem to swing the ice axe hard enough for it to hold on to the ice and rock so Michelle did most of the pulling. Despite the lack of help from Ash, Michelle didn't seem to mind the fact that Ash was just following.   
  
After two long grueling hours they were still on the move. It was extremely cold and the mountain was getting even steeper. Michelle was still game and ready to keep going, but Ash was having a difficult time. Even though he was wearing protective gloves, his hands were growing numb and he was having trouble breathing on account of the limited about of oxygen in the high atmosphere.   
  
"Don't worry Ash. This mountain isn't high enough for the air to get any worse." Michelle looked down at Ash. "In fact this isn't bad at all. You just haven't been up this high before so of course it will be difficult."  
  
Ash looked up at her and forced a smile. "Difficult? Ha! This is a piece of cake."  
  
Michelle smiled back. "I like your attitude." Michelle continued on as Ash, wishing he didn't say what he did, followed despite his discomfort.  
  
Minutes passed, but to Ash they seemed like hours. He was really having a hard, miserable time, but he let his pride keep him from telling Michelle that he was having trouble.   
  
The air started to blow a cold chill around them as the two continued up. Michelle noticed that Ash was really slowing up. "Ash you want to stop and take a rest?"  
  
"No, we are too close to the top to stop now." Ash insisted as he began to climb toward Michelle.   
  
Ash was having trouble finding his footing at this particular part of the mountain. He saw Michelle scramble up that part of the mountain like if she was a spider in a web, but he couldn't seem to do it himself.   
  
"Wait there Ash, I'll come down to help you." Michelle said as she began to climb back down.  
  
"No, it's okay I can handle it." Ash reached up to grip an opening in the rock and placed his right foot on a small icy piece of rock. As he put his weight the right foot in order to pull himself up the soles of his shoes slipped off the icy rock. Still attached to Michelle, Ash slipped. Before he could fall he managed to hold on to the side of the mountain as his body dangled toward the bottom.   
  
"Michelle!" Ash cried out as he continued to hold on.  
  
"Hold on Ash," Michelle called as she climbed down.  
  
Michelle climbed down to his level and was right up next to him. Using only one arm she grabbed him by his waist and pulled him over to the side.   
  
"Hold on Ash there is a small crevice a few feet over here where we can stop." Michelle said as she continued to pull him to the right. After a few panicky minutes Michelle finally got Ash to safety. They were about ten feet from where Ash had slipped and Ash was happy due to the fact that he could now rest. The ledge they were resting on was about 15 square feet and most of it was underneath part of the mountain. It looked like a little cave.  
  
"Are you okay Ash?" Michelle asked as she put her hand on his shoulder.   
  
Ash looked at her. She had a very worried look on her face so of course he was going to say, "Yeah."  
  
"Great. We'll rest here for a bit and then we'll finish the climb. Unless you want to stay here, I don't mind going by myself."  
  
"No, just give me a few minutes. I'll be okay, I want to go with you."  
  
"Okay." Michelle said as she sighed and stared at the view the mountain had created for them. "Isn't that a beautiful sight. See how the sun shines on the city below and how fresh and clean it is up here."  
  
Ash nodded. "It's nice." He was still trying to get over the thought of falling. Now he really wished he had some of his Pokemon with him.  
  
As Ash stared at the beautiful scene, Michelle's mind wandered off from the view and back onto the mountain. She examined the rocks trying to figure out if they were sturdy enough to climb up. While she was inspecting them she noticed something else.  
  
"Michelle what is it?" Ash asked as he noticed Michelle stand up and walk into the miniature cave (which was only about six feet in).  
  
Michelle placed her hand on the rock and to feel the sturdiness of it. "Ash come here."  
  
Ash stood up and stepped over to her.   
  
"Look at this. Do you see what I see?" Michelle asked as she pointed over to the rocks.  
  
"No," Ash answered.  
  
"Look closer." Michelle grabbed a hold of a piece of rock and pulled it out. "Look it's hallow inside!" Michelle said as Ash finally saw what she was talking about.  
  
"How did you notice that?" Ash asked.  
  
"I don't know it just didn't look right to me." Michelle said.   
  
They both tried to peer into the little hole.  
  
"What do you suppose is in there?" Ash asked.  
  
"I don't know. But I want to find out!" Michelle answered. "Help me will ya?"   
  
Michelle grabbed a hold of a bigger section of rock as Ash grabbed a hold of her waist.   
  
"Pull!" Michelle shouted as they both pulled.  
  
They pulled and pulled with all their strength, but no matter how hard they tried they couldn't get the section out. It didn't even budge an inch.  
  
Michelle was getting a little frustrated. "I want to see what's in there!"  
  
Ash and Michelle pulled again, but like the first attempt, they couldn't do it. I was jammed in there tight.  
  
Michelle sat down to rest again from using all her energy pulling. "I'm starting to think that my father is right."  
  
Ash gasped.  
  
"What if I am wasting my time?" Michelle said, whimpering a little.  
  
Ash sat next to her and placed his arm around her shoulders. "Don't talk like that. You'll find something."  
  
Michelle looked at him. "Really?"  
  
"I know you will. I believe in you. Just as much as you believed in your Grandfather."  
  
Michelle smiled. "Thank you Ash.  
  
Michelle and Ash hugged. Just as they were about to get up and try once again a huge thick cloud of smog covered the air around them. Coughing and choking Ash and Michelle tried to look around to see where the thick smog was coming from.  
  
"Ash what's going on?" Michelle cried.  
  
"Prepare for Trouble!" "And make it double."  
  
"Oh no not you guys again!" Ash screamed. As the smoke finally began to clear Ash and Michelle spotted Team Rocket hovering next to the mountain in their Meowth Balloon.  
  
"To protect the world from devastation"  
"To unite all people within our nation"  
"To denounce the evils of truth and love"  
"To extent our reach to the stars above."  
"JESSE!"  
"JAMES!"  
"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light"  
"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"  
Meowth pops its head from inside the basket. "Meowth, that's right!"   
  
Ash looked up at them and shouted. "I don't have Pikachu or any of my Pokemon with me so you better get out of here!"  
  
Jesse laughed. "Don't fatter yourself kid. We aren't after your Pokemon this time."  
  
"Huh?" Ash was confused. They were always after his Pokemon.  
  
"If you need to know we are after a legendary Pokemon." Jesse said.  
  
"Mew?" Michelle asked.  
  
"Exactly." James answered.  
  
Michelle's eyes widened. "Do you know how to find it?"  
  
James and Jesse looked at each other as Meowth looked up at both of them.  
  
"Actually, girly we were following you and let you two twerps do all the work for us. We were just going to snatch it from you and then take it to our boss." Meowth answered with a huge grin on its face. "But we decided that you two were taking too long so we are going to take over."  
  
Ash clenched his fist and waved it at them. "You can't get Mew we won't let you!"  
  
"Oh, you don't have a choice." Jesse said as she pulled out a remote control, which contained a red button and a green button. She pressed the big red button.  
  
A portion of the basket opened up from the bottom and a missile appeared.  
  
"You see twerp we aren't going to take any chances this time. We can not let you two find this Pokemon before us so. . ."  
  
Jesse pressed the green button, which switched on the missile and aimed it at the snow and rocks above them.  
  
"NO DON'T!" Ash cried out as the missile fired and hit against the mountainside.  
  
At first nothing happened. But then the ledge the two friends were standing on started to shake. Within seconds the whole mountain seem to be shaking.  
  
"What's going on?" Ash cried out.  
  
"Ash look up there!" Michelle grabbed on to Ash's arm and pointed to the sky.  
  
A huge mass of the rocks and snow from above gave away and came down tumbling towards them.  
  
"Avalanche!" Michelle shouted.  
  
"Michelle! We're trapped!" Ash yelled as he and Michelle held on to each other.   
  
The enormous mass of snow came roaring down faster and faster until it struck the two explorers and knocked them off the ledge. Ash and Michelle slid and fell down the mountain along with the shifting snow.  
  
Team Rocket watched as the massive avalanche hit the ground at the base of the mountain within a few minutes. They continued to watch and wait for movement down in the snow in case the two kids managed to get out of the way, but there wasn't any.  
  
"There! That will keep those two twerps out of the way." Jesse laughed.  
  
"But Jess, don't you think that was a little harsh?" James asked.  
  
Meowth smacked James on the head. "What are you going soft? We had to get them out of the way if were are going to get that Pokemon!" Meowth said. "Now lets land this thing and start climbing up this little mountain."  
  
"Can't we just fly up there?" James asked.  
  
Jesse hit James on the head this time. "No, the air up here is a lot different than down there. If we continue to go up there we may never be able to get back down. We have to get out and climb up the rest."  
  
  
As the three of them argued about what they had to do they didn't realize that they hadn't gotten rid of Ash and Michelle yet. Underneath tons of snow at the bottom of the mountain Ash and Michelle huddled together in a little burrow created by boulders that had fallen in such a way to hold some of the snow up. The little burrow was sealed by the weight of the snow and rocks above them.   
  
Shivering Ash continued to hold on to Michelle. "Whoa," Ash whispered to Michelle. "Don't make any sudden movements. We don't want all that snow coming down and suffocate us." Ash looked around them, but he didn't see any way to get out. "Just make sure we don't go to sleep or we might freeze to death."  
  
"If we try to dig out all that snow might collapse on us." She looked up at Ash. "What are we going to do?" Michelle asked as she snuggled up against Ash trying to use body heat to keep warm.  
  
"I don't know, but we'll think of something." Ash whispered back. "Team Rocket hasn't won yet!" 


	4. What Happened?

Disclaimer: The characters Ash, Misty, Brock and all of the Pokemon are copyrighted by GameFreak, Nintendo, and Pokemon Inc. I did not create them.  
  
  
  
  
Chapter Four: What happened?  
  
  
  
After what seemed like an eternity, Michelle (still up against Ash) began to regret the trip. They have been trapped underneath the snow for almost an hour now and they were almost completely numb and were starting to run out of oxygen.   
  
Breathing heavily due to lack of oxygen Michelle finally spoke after a lengthened silence. "It's all my fault."  
  
Ash looked as her.  
  
"If it wasn't for me being so focused on finding Mew we never would have climbed that Mountain, run into Team Rocket, and worst yet, we wouldn't be trapped under tons of snow waiting for either help or death. I shamed my Grandfather in the process of all this." Michelle paused. "And much worse I killed us both."  
  
Ash grabbed a hold of her hand and squeezed it gently. "No, this wasn't your fault. You were just following what you believed in."  
  
"Which was wrong. I WAS WRONG!" Small tears began to roll down her cheeks.  
  
Ash held her even more close to him. "If you follow what you believe in, you can never be wrong."  
  
Michelle looked up and gave a weak, yet affectionate, smile as Ash forced a smile back. They moved closer and closer until their faces were almost touching. Just before Ash and Michelle could say or do anything else a mysterious cloud of smoke filled the small area.  
  
"What's going on?" Michelle asked, a little frightened.  
  
"I don't know," Ash answered as he held Michelle tighter.  
  
Suddenly a huge blast of light lit the area blinding the two kids causing them to slam their eyes shut. Eyes still closed the two could feel a cool breeze running through them.   
  
Ash opened his eyes and looked around. "Quick, Michelle look!"  
  
Michelle opened her eyes only to see they were out of the snow surrounded by a large pack of dog-like Pokemon.   
  
"What are they?"  
  
"Those are Houndour," Ash answered. "I wonder what they want?"  
  
One of the large Houndour growled at the two and was just about ready to attack when a loud whistle stopped it.  
  
"Dour," The Houndour looked up at their approaching master.   
  
He was in dirty jeans, a black jacket with a white shirt with some sort of logo underneath, and a cowboy hat.   
  
"Good, job Houndour." He walked up to the large pokemon and patted it on the head. "Good job." He looked at the two kids. "Are you kids alright?"  
  
Ash, sitting in the snow with Michelle still in his arms, looked at him. "I think so."  
  
The man helped them up on their wobbly feet. "What are your names?"  
  
"My name is Ash and this is my friend Michelle."  
  
"It's a darn good thing that my Houndour found you when they did." The man said as he knelt down next to them. "Who knows how long you would have lasted out here in the cold lying on the snow." He turned around and started walking away. He called over his shoulder, "Come with me. I'll warm you kids up."  
  
Ash and Michelle followed this mysterious man, along with his Houndour pack, until they reached a quaint little cabin on the other side of the mountain. It looked like a peaceful little place that is used for relaxing. However, when they got inside they found out that this wasn't just a cabin. This was a miniature police headquarters. There were computers filled with data everywhere along with stacks and stacks of files spread out on the tables and desks.  
  
"What is this place? And who are you?" Michelle asked as the man handed them two cups of hot chocolate.  
  
"Sorry, I guess I forget to introduce myself. My name is Lex. I am a police detective. I was stationed here a few days ago. There was a robbery at a supply store in Blackthorn City and I am suppose to check it out and find out who did it." Lex took off his jacket and hung it on the door. "By the way. It's pretty unusual to find kids just lying out in the freezing snow. What were you two doing out there?"  
  
Michelle sipped her chocolate before she answered him. "We were on a pokemon expedition."  
  
Ash spoke up. "We are trying to find a Mew."  
  
Lex smiled at the two. "Awe that sounds like a lot of fun." The man then turned serious. "You do know that they don't exist anymore."  
  
"My grandfather saw one many years ago and I think it has got to be out there somewhere so I'm trying to find it."  
  
"That's real cute little girl, but I'm afraid that you're just wasting your time." Lex walked over and poured them some more hot chocolate. "After you warm up I'll have one of my Houndour escort you back to where ever you came from."  
  
Michelle didn't like what this guy was saying about Mew, but she decided to keep her comments to herself. After all, this guy did help them out.  
  
After a third cup of hot chocolate the two finally decided to head back to the tower. Lex sent two of his biggest Houndour to escort them back. Having them nearby made Michelle very nervous. She wasn't use to being so close to a Dark type pokemon. When they finally got to the tower they noticed that there was no light coming from the windows. Michelle and Ash climbed up the stairs and just as Michelle reached for the doorknob the door swung open, a hand grabbed Michelle by the wrist, and pulled her in.   
  
"What the?" Seeing this Ash raced up the stairs to see what was happening. When he got to the door it was quickly slammed in his face. Ash heard the lock get bolted into place. "Hey, what's going on?" Ash began to pound on the door.   
  
It was pitch black inside the place. Michelle was worried until she saw a small light flicker on and she watched as a figure lit a candle. After a few more candles were lit she easily recognized Brock. He was lighting the candles, which lit the table that was in the middle of the room. The table was cleared off and was replaced by a delicious looking dinner. Michelle saw a small cooked ham in the center along with a plate full of potatoes covered in cheese, a bowl full of green vegetables, and a luscious looking cake for desert. Michelle peered around the room and didn't see any signs of Misty.  
  
With Ash still banging on the front door trying to get in Brock pulled a small miniature radio from his pack, placed it on the table, and turn it on. As the soft violin music played, Brock walked over to Michelle and held her hand.  
  
"How about a nice quiet dinner that is good enough for a Queen." Brock said is a very suave voice. "Which is how you look in my eyes, beautiful."  
  
Even though she knew he must have put some effort into this she couldn't help but bust up laughing. Brock just stared at her with a questioning look. She could tell that wasn't the reaction he was expecting.  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry Brock." Michelle said. She was having a hard time telling him that she didn't like him that way without hurting his feelings. "This is nice. Really it is. I just don't feel right about this."  
  
"What do you mean?" Brock asked. His voice changed from suave to disappointed.  
  
"I am very picky about the type of guy I date. You're . . . you're more like a big brother."  
  
And with that Brock looked away from Michelle, walked passed her, opened the front door. When he opened the door, Ash fell flat on his face onto the floor at Brock's feet due to the fact that he was pushing up against the door. Ash sat up, rubbed his face with his hand and then he looked up at Brock.  
  
"Brock what's going on?" Ash asked as he stood up.  
  
Without answering Brock stepped around Ash, went out of the building and slammed the door behind him.  
"What's his problem?" Ash asked. Then he noticed the romantic dinner. "Oh, okay nevermind I don't want to know."   
  
Ash walked over to Michelle. "Where's Misty?" Ash looked around. "And Pikachu?"  
  
They listened as they heard a faint knock coming from the office. They followed the sound and found that it was coming from the closet that was in the corner of the room. Michelle opened the door and inside was Misty along with Pikachu, Togepi, and all of their Pokeballs.  
  
Misty stood up and Pikachu leaped into Ash's arms. "I tried to stop him. I tried to stop him," she kept repeating it until Ash put his hand over her mouth. He waited for a minute and then removed his hand. "What took you guys so long?"  
  
"It's a long story." Michelle said.  
  
The group didn't feel right about leaving all of the good food that Brock had made to go to waste so as Michelle and Ash informed Misty and Pikachu of what happened they sat around the table and ate the dinner. Brock did come back after a little while. He just needed to cool off a little steam and then he joined them. He didn't seem too aggravated about what had happened when Michelle got back as he did when it happened.  
  
After the dinner was over and the story was told it was pretty late so they decided to go to bed. Michelle and Misty slept in the office as Brock and Ash (with Pikachu of course) slept in the main entrance room.  
  
It was around 11:30pm when Ash was awakened by a presence walking pasted him. He glanced up in time to see Michelle step outside. Trying not to wake up Pikachu, Ash slipped out of his sleeping bag and followed out the door. Michelle was sitting in the snowy grass and stared up at the mountain. Even though they were a great distance away from the mountain it was still freezing cold for Ash so he stepped back in, grabbed a blanket from his bag and went out again.   
  
Ash stepped up to Michelle. "What's the matter?" He sat down next to her.  
  
"I was just thinking."  
  
"About what?"  
  
Michelle looked at Ash. "Do you remember how we got out of the snow?"  
  
Ash scratched his head. "Sure, the Houndour dug us out."  
  
Michelle continued to stare at him. "Are you sure?"  
  
Ash looked at her puzzled. "I guess, why?"  
  
Michelle looked away from him and back at the mountain. "I don't think so." Ash sat there in silence. "Think about it. Did you see any black paws lift the snow from above us? If they did dig us out how come they didn't look tired or even break a sweat? Where did that cloud of smog come from if we were completely sealed inside?" She looked at Ash again. "Think about it."  
  
Ash tried to come up with plausible answers to her questions, but he couldn't.   
  
"So what do you think got us out?" Ash asked.  
  
"I don't think the Houndour were the ones that saved us." She looked up at the mountain. "I believe it was something else."  
  
Michelle never told Ash who or what she thought saved them and Ash decided not to ask. He just moved closer to her and covered her with part of the blanket. They sat there for a while just staring at the sight of the moon hovering over the mountain and the stars shining in the sky above them. They sat there in silence and in wonder. 


	5. One Step Closer to Mew

Disclaimer: The characters Ash, Misty, Brock and all of the Pokemon are copyrighted by GameFreak, Nintendo, and Pokemon Inc. I did not create them.  
  
  
  
  
Chapter Five: One Step Closer to Mew  
  
  
  
The following day was much more beautiful than the day before. The sun was shining and the weather was warm with a slight chill. Ash, Misty, Brock and their Pokemon were all having a blast relaxing and playing in the shallow snow. Michelle, however, was far from relaxed. She had been thinking about everything. She just sat at the top of the stairs that lead to the tower and just stared at the mountain pondering all the facts and theories in her head.  
  
"It just has to be." Michelle whispered to herself as she looked down at the group. She saw Brock look up at her, wave, and smile a really goofy looking smile. Michelle looked back up at the mountain. "It just has to."  
  
Ash was playing with Pikachu and Chikorita when he noticed what Michelle was doing. He stopped and walked up the stairs and knelt down in front of her. "Why don't you put Mew out your head and have some fun with us."  
  
"I can't." Michelle said. "I can't get it out of my head. It couldn't have been the Houndour."  
  
"Then what?"  
  
"I'm not sure, but I have an idea." Michelle paused again. "I want to go back up there."  
  
"You do?"  
  
"Yes, but you don't have to come with me this time." Michelle said.   
  
"Of course I'm coming with you." Ash said as he stood up. "I can't let you climb up there all by yourself."  
  
"That's sweet of you!" Michelle said, as she blushed a little. "By the way I haven't asked you this before why are you here. In Blackthorn City I mean?"  
  
"Oh, I came to challenge the gymleader to get another badge. I only need one more in order to get into the Johto league." Ash answered. "But that can wait. This is much more intriguing." Ash was shocked that for once he actually said a big word. He just hoped he used it right so he wouldn't look like a dork.   
  
As the two continued to talk about pokemon, they didn't notice the disappearance of Brock and Misty. While they were talking Brock had grabbed a hold of Misty and led her away from the tower so they could talk alone.  
  
With a frantic tone Brock paced back and forth. "Why Misty? Why can't I get this girl to like me?"  
  
Misty was playing with Togepi as she listened. "Well, Brock. Maybe you're just not her type."  
  
"Then what can I do to be her type?"  
  
Misty sighed. "You can't just make someone like you." Misty explained. "And it's not right to pretend to be someone else just to get them to like you."  
  
"Wait, I have an idea!" Brock shouted as he took off in the opposite direction on the tower leaving Misty alone with Togepi.  
  
"Well, we better get back before Ash and Michelle wonder where we are." Misty walked back.  
  
Meanwhile back at the tower Ash and Michelle were still talking about Mew, but their conversation moved from the top of the tower steps to down onto the ground near the pokemon.  
  
"So when do you want to go up again?" Ash asked as Totodile walked up with a little bouncy ball for Ash to throw. Ash just ignored the pokemon as he waited for her answer.  
  
"Well, I think we should rest one more day and then hit it early tomorrow." Michelle suggested. "What do you think about that?"  
  
"That's fine with me!" Ash answered as he finally noticed Totodile and threw the ball for it.  
  
Suddenly they heard loud pounding footsteps charging towards them and as they turn around they see Brock dashing in their direction. Brock stops, pushes Ash out of the way, and bows toward Michelle. Ash, who was completely in shock, backed away from the love obsessed boy.   
  
Brock took out the hand that he had behind his back and revealed a single red rose. Brock gazed deeply into her eyes. "Vulpix is red." Brock sang. "Squirtle is blue. Here is a beautiful rose for a beautiful girl like you."   
  
Ash continued to back away. "Maybe I should just leave you two alone for a bit." Ash said as he motioned for Pikachu and his other Pokemon to follow. They all followed him without an argument.   
  
Michelle kind of wished that Ash didn't leave her alone with this guy. Brock moved closer and closer and when he was almost touching her Michelle cried out, "Oh, gee I think I left the tower windows open. I better go shut them." Michelle dodged Brock and raced up the tower stairs.  
  
Brock was even more aggravated now than he had ever been. He wasn't going to give up without a fight.  
  
  
Ash, along with his pokemon (Noctowl, Totodile, Cyndaquil, Chikorita, Pikachu, and Bulbasaur), walked into the woods so he could talk to them. They stopped at a small little pond that was surrounded by large pine trees so his pokemon could play.  
  
"Pikachu." Ash began to say as he picked up Pikachu from the ground and placed it on his lap. "What do you think about Michelle?"  
  
Pikachu was expecting Ash to talk about the gym battle that they were going to have soon. Hopefully. Pikachu just answered him to make him happy. "Pika Pika Pi."  
  
"I like her. She has so much potential and she's strong willed too." Ash looked at Pikachu. "Yet, Brock seems to have the upper hand on this. He is the type to win a girl's heart not me. I wouldn't know where to begin."  
  
Pikachu was getting a little upset. Pikachu didn't want to hear about Michelle.  
  
"She has the mind to become a really great Pokemon trainer. If we can get her a pokemon I'm wondering if we could get her to come with us." Ash reached to pat Pikachu on the head, but Pikachu violently moved its head out of the way. Ash's mind was on Michelle so he didn't notice what Pikachu did. "That's it!" Ash jumped up, tossing Pikachu onto the ground. "I'm going to ask her!" And with that, Ash dashed back leaving his pokemon behind.  
  
Pikachu, who was very angry and green at this point, gathered the pokemon and slowly led them back.  
  
Ash dashed to the tower, leaped up the steps, and practically crashed through the entrance door. As he charged in Misty stopped him.  
  
"Shhhhh, Ash keep it down a bit." Misty whispered.  
  
"What's going on?" He asked as he peered around, but saw nothing. Brock was no where to be seen.  
  
Misty pointed over to the office. "Michelle, just got an important call." Misty explained. "So please keep it down."  
  
Ash could hear her from where he was standing.  
  
"..yes yes are you sure?" Michelle was saying. "Of course I'll meet you.....The Pokemon Center at noon.........No problem, I'll be there. Thank you goodbye." Michelle hung up and stepped into the room with Ash and Misty. "Will you guys come with me?"  
  
Ash answered for the both of them. "Of course we will."  
  
"Great lets go we don't have much time."  
  
As the trio was leaving, Pikachu and the pokemon arrived at the tower. Ash, Misty and Michelle raced by them without acknowledging their presence. This upset the pokemon a lot. Pikachu decided to deal with this later and it led them into the tower to wait.  
  
  
On the way to the Pokemon Center Michelle was explaining to her two friends that the stranger that had called her had some information about Mew. Ash questioned her decision of going to meet a complete stranger about something that no one seems to know about. Michelle said she wasn't worried and she was prepared for anything. She wanted to make sure she took every lead that might take her one step closer to finding Mew. When they got there they went up to the front desk to ask Nurse Joy about this stranger.  
  
"Hey I'm surprised to see you Ash!" A familiar voice called from behind the group.   
  
Ash spun around and saw his old friend Todd standing behind them.  
  
"How did I know it was you?" Misty said as she gave Todd a hug.  
  
Todd turned to as and they shook hands. "It's great to see you again."  
  
Michelle shoved Ash and Misty out of the way. "Tell me what you know about Mew!"  
  
"Whoa, take it easy." Todd said. "I hate to say that I don't have any information about Mew, but I do have this." Todd reached into his backpack and pulled out of picture. "I took this just yesterday." Michelle took the picture and examined it. It was a picture of Blackthorn Mountain with a small pink cloud hovering over a part of the mountain. "I was busy trying to get the perfect shot of these beautiful Stantler when that pink cloud flew over me."  
  
"No offence Todd, but if this thing flew over you couldn't you have gotten a closer shot?"  
  
"That's just it. The first few tries I got of taking that picture the cloud disappeared just as the shutter went off. That was the only one I managed to take." Todd finished.   
  
Nurse Joy popped up from behind. "I've seen that cloud before."  
  
The four kids stopped and stared up at Joy. "Sure, that cloud is always visible during this time of the year."  
  
"What do you mean?" Michelle asked.  
  
"For some reason that cloud only shows up once a year during the season of the worst snow storms." Nurse Joy was saying as the group continued to listen. "It never shows up at any other time of the year."  
  
"How come I never heard of this? I have lived here my whole life." Michelle asked.  
  
"Not too many people see this since its only one time a year. I am one of the few who have seen it because I am always in the storms helping sick and injured pokemon." Nurse Joy said.  
  
Michelle looked at the picture again. "Wait a second!" Michelle said. "Yes I got it!" Michelle cried out as she darted out of the Pokemon center.  
  
Todd looked at Ash. "She's obviously easily excitable, huh."  
  
"You have no idea," Ash answered as he walked off after her.   
  
Misty stayed at the Pokemon Center with Nurse Joy and Todd and continued to talk with them.  
  
Ash just assumed that Michelle had returned to the tower so that's where he was headed. When he arrived he saw her with two backpacks and was outside waiting for him. She smiled when she saw him and went over to him.   
  
"Is that offer to accompany me up the mountain again still good?" Michelle asked as she handed the pack to Ash.   
  
Ash took it and strapped it on his back. "Oh, yeah let's do it."  
  
"There is going to be a slight change this time." Michelle said as she walked away to the tower. "This time I want you to take a couple of your strongest Pokemon."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"You'll see I have an idea." Michelle winked as Ash ran to get his Pokemon.  
  
Ash decided to take Bulbasaur and Cyndaquil to take with him. He tucked their pokeballs away so they wouldn't accidentally fall as they climbed. This climb was a bit easier for Ash since he had an idea where to place his hands and feet in order to get a decent grip on the rocks. Michelle stopped after a long while and just felt the air around her.  
  
"Ash!" She shouted downward to him. "The air up here is getting s bit stronger and colder. A storm is coming we should find a place to stop and get off this steep side or we will most definitely fall again."  
  
Just as they were getting up to the part where they had encountered Team Rocket Michelle noticed something very peculiar.  
  
"What is it Michelle?" Ash called to her trying to get his voice loud enough to be heard over the slight wind that was blowing through them.   
  
"I have no idea. Come on let's get closer." Michelle tugged at the rope that was attaching her and Ash together.   
  
When they finally reached where they were trying to get to Michelle stopped in shock. "Ash quick get up here. You have go to see this!"  
  
Ash hurried up to Michelle and when he got up there he had the same reaction as her. "Oh, whoa."  
  
On the ledge where they were attacked stood a large frozen statue of Team Rocket.   
  
"I wonder what happened to them?" Michelle said to Ash.   
  
"I don't know, but maybe we should get them out of there and find out." Ash said as he reached for a Pokeball. "Cyndaquil, I choose you!" Cyndaquil came out of its pokeball. "Cyndaquil use your flame-thrower to get them out of the ice!"  
  
"Cynda!" Cyndaquil lit the flame on its back and fired a flame-thrower at Team Rocket. I was only a matter of seconds before Team Rocket was completely free from their ice prison.   
  
"Thanks Cyndaquil. Return!" Ash called back his pokemon and then turned to the shivering team. "What happened to you guys?"  
  
Meowth, with chattering teeth, answered Ash. "Well, it wasn't too long after we blew you two away when we got caught in a blizzard."  
  
"Yes, and we all fell and we landed back down here where we started." James finished.  
  
"Why didn't you guys take your balloon to the top?" Ash asked.  
  
"Jesse thought it would be better if we traveled without it." James answered. Jesse seemed to be too frozen to say anything at all so she let James and Meowth do all the talking.  
  
Meowth gave a really evil grin. "But now that you two twerps have set us free there is no reason why we cant take this opportunity to steal your Pokemon!"  
  
"Yeah, we got you right where we want you!" James pulled out a Pokeball. "Victreebell go!"  
  
Ash motioned for Michelle to get behind him. "Don't worry I'll handle this!" Ash called out his Cyndaquil.  
  
"Victreebell, razor leaf attack!" James ordered as Victreebell obeyed for once.  
  
"Quick Cyndaquil use your flame-thrower to burn those leaves!"  
  
Cyndaquil did what it was commanded as used its fire attack to burn the leaves into black ashes.   
  
"Now lets get rid of these trouble makers! Cyndaquil use your firespin!"  
  
"Cynda!" Cyndaquil charged up its flame and released a huge firespin attack at Team Rocket.  
  
It struck the team and it sent them flying into the sky. "Team Rocket is screwing up again!" They screamed as they disappeared into the sky.  
  
Ash called back Cyndaquil. "See, piece of cake!"  
  
But Michelle wasn't paying any attention anymore. Her mind was focused on the same spot they had found earlier. "Ash," she was saying while she was still looked at the wall. "In the picture I noticed that this was where that pink cloud was hovering by." Once again she stuck her hands in the little spots and pulled. Nothing.   
  
"Ash use your Pokemon and see if they can get this open." Michelle said.   
  
"Okay, I'll uses Bulbasaur for this job." Ash grabbed the Pokeball. "Bulbasaur, I choose you!"  
  
"Bulba," it appeared beside Ash.  
  
"Bulbasaur use your vine whip to help us get that piece of rock out!"  
  
"Saur," Bulbasaur obeyed as it stretched out its vine whip.  
  
All three of them tugged and tugged.  
  
"We need more help!" Ash called in the process of pulling. "Cyndaquil, help us!"  
  
Cyndaquil appeared and pulled as well.  
  
They pulled and pulled. And finally, when it seemed like they were never going to get that piece out the rock started to move.  
  
"Keep pulling," Michelle yelled as they did.  
  
With one last tug they managed to slide the rock enough for them to be able to see in and quite possibly squeeze through.  
  
It was pitch black and it seemed to be kind of like a small cave.   
  
  
"Cyndaquil please light up your flame so we can see when we go in!" Michelle asked the pokemon.  
  
"Go in?" Ash seemed kind of nervous at the idea.  
  
"Sure, come on." Michelle grabbed a hold of his arm. "What could possibly happen?"  
  
Ash sighed. "I wish you hadn't said that."  
  
Michelle pulled Ash in as Cyndaquil led them with Bulbasaur following behind. The cave wasn't very deep. In fact in the matter of minutes they got close to the end.   
  
"Well, there is nothing in here. Let's go!" Ash said, but before he could leave Michelle grabbed his arm again.  
  
"What are you scared?" Michelle asked as she pulled him in a bit.  
  
Of course not," Ash said. "But it's just that my pokemon seem a bit worried so I thought . . ."  
  
Michelle looked at the two pokemon. They were just standing there, one on each of Ash's sides.  
  
"They seem fine to me!" Michelle looked back up at Ash. "Come on."  
  
She led Ash to the end of the cave. (Which was only about ten more feet.  
  
"Darn it." Michelle said. "Nothing." Michelle stared at the cave back wall. "I was so sure that there would be something in here of value."  
  
"Bulba!" "Cyndaquil!" Ash's pokemon called out to them. They were over by the left wall.  
  
"What the matter guys?" Ash asked.  
  
Ash and Michelle walked over and the closer they got they noticed a small hole in the wall by the floor of the cave. It was pretty small, but it was big enough for either Cyndaquil or Bulbasaur to squeeze through so it was a decent size.  
  
"Go ahead and look inside." Ash whispered to Michelle.  
  
"Why me?"  
  
"You're the brave one who wanted to come in here." Ash whispered.  
  
"Oh yeah that's right." Michelle answered as she knelt down by the hole. She took a deep breath and peered in. "Oh, my gosh. Ash come here!" Michelle reached up and pulled Ash down on his knees by tugging on the collar of his shirt. "Look!"  
  
Ash looked in. "Whoa." He looked up at her. "Pokemon eggs!"  
  
"But I wonder from what pokemon?"  
  
"Maybe a Pidgeotto, or a Spearow maybe."   
  
"No it's too cold for them to lay here." Michelle thought. "It must me an ice or water type of Pokemon. Ash check your Pokedex!"  
  
"Great idea." Ash pulled out his Pokedex and pointed it at the eggs.  
  
Pokedex: "Egg species not known."  
  
"That's weird my Pokedex doesn't know." Ash said.  
  
"Bulba!" "Cyndaquil!"  
  
"Now what?" Ash looked up at them. They were looking at the direction of entrance to the cave. Ash and Michelle both gasped when they looked up and saw what the Pokemon did.   
  
"Quick Ash," Michelle grabbed Ash by the shirt again. "Over here!" They crawled over to the other side of the cave trying to hid behind what large rocks they could find. "Bulbasaur, Cyndaquil come on!"  
  
Ash's pokemon followed and hid behind their trainer and Michelle.  
  
They watched as a small puff of pink cloud floated into the cave. Ash used his Pokedex again, but again there was no data. The pink cloud hovered over to the eggs and then stopped at the entrance to the hole. The pink cloud began to fade away as it began to take shape.  
  
Michelle was in awe as the others were in shock at what they were seeing.  
  
Michelle watched until the figure was in full form and she was completely astonished. "I. . . I can't believe it!" 


	6. The Snow Storm Secret

Disclaimer: The characters Ash, Misty, Brock and all of the Pokemon are copyrighted by GameFreak, Nintendo, and Pokemon Inc. I did not create them.  
  
  
  
  
Chapter Six: The Snow Storm Secret   
  
There was a long silence as the group stared at this Pokemon in wonderment. Michelle wanted to say something, but she was completely speechless.   
  
Ash finally broke the silence after a few more seconds. "Michelle?"  
  
Without looking at Ash she answered, refusing to take her eyes off the Pokemon. "It can't be." She reached into the smallest pocket of her backpack and pulled out a folded up piece of paper. Michelle slowly lifted her hand and held the paper for Ash to see. "This is a picture of a wall carving that I found on the internet. It is a picture of what Mew should look like."   
  
They both compared the image to the Pokemon, who had its back turned to the group while it was fixing the area around the nest.  
  
"Look Ash, same tail, same shape. The words around the image claim that this was a psychic pokemon and look. . ." Michelle pointed to the Pokemon as they saw it pick up small rocks and put them in place using some sort of power. "Looks like this is psychic to me."  
  
Ash agreed. The Pokemon just listened to them as they continued to watch and hide.  
  
"Ash we did it." Michelle smiled as she continued to watch the Pokemon. "We found a Mew!"  
  
Ash smiled back and then smiled at the pokemon that was still behind them. "Thanks guys!"  
  
They nodded.  
  
Michelle refused to leave. She couldn't pull herself away from the beautiful creature that she saw in front of her. She had brought a camera, but she decided not to take a picture for the click of the shutter might frighten Mew. They continued to watch until Mew finished with the nest, formed a pink cloud around itself and flew out of the cave like a bullet from a gun.  
  
"Wow!" Michelle said as she stood up from her hiding place. "That was Mew." She looked over to the small hole. "And those are the eggs of Mew." Then it hit her. "I know!" She pulled Ash onto his feet using his shirt collar and looked into his eyes. "I understand!"  
  
Ash wasn't sure what she was talking about so he kept his mouth shut.  
  
"I know why Mew comes to this mountain. Mew is a very rare species. So in order to protect its offspring it chooses the most dangerous, and hostile places on the planet to lay its eggs. This way they are safe from human reach."  
  
"But other Pokemon can get to them." Ash said.  
  
"Yeah, well maybe Mew doesn't fear other Pokemon." Michelle thought out loud. "Maybe it just fears humans because we are too destructive and because of the fear of getting captured."  
  
Ash thought about what Michelle was saying. "That makes sense."  
  
"Of course it does!" Michelle smiled. "Oh, I can't wait to tell everyone at home that my Granddaddy was right and they were wrong!" Michelle grabbed Ash, once again, by his collar and pulled him with her as she jogged out of the cave. Ash barely had enough time to call his Pokemon back. Once outside the cave they both took in a deep breath of fresh air. The air in the cave was a little stuffy and warm.  
  
"Okay, now that we made it up here," Ash said as he peered down the mountain from the ledge. "how are we going to climb back down?"  
  
Michelle smiled. "We don't have to, Ash!" She reached into her backpack and pulled out a Pokeball. "I choose you!" The Pokeball opened and out of it appeared a Fearow.  
  
Ash was in shock. Even more so than when he saw a legendary extinct pokemon in the cave. "You. . . you mean you had a flying pokemon that could have just flown us up here the whole time!!"   
  
"Well, yes. But if we just flew up here then we wouldn't be able to see all the detail that we needed to find Mew than if we climbed up ourselves." Michelle quickly answered hoping that Ash would understand her reasoning. "Do you have any idea how many times I did fly up and down his mountain and came out with nothing? If we had climbed we wouldn't have noticed that tiny little crack that led us to this small cave. Speaking of which we need to put the rock back," Michelle finished as she looked up at Fearow and then pointed to the rock.  
  
Her Fearow understood what she wanted and began to push the rock back.  
  
"Besides," Michelle began again. "This way it was more fun!" She winked at him.  
  
"You call climbing up a steep, slippery, stormy mountain, freezing until our bodies were numb and almost falling down to our deaths fun?" Ash was getting a little excited and mad.  
  
"Uh huh," Michelle nodded.  
  
Ash just rolled his eyes back. He felt like he was going to faint, but then he realized he couldn't do it in front of Michelle.  
  
After the rock was put back and the cave was almost completely sealed (except for the little crack opening) the two kids loaded themselves on Fearow back, but before Fearow could take off a huge rope net covered them.   
  
"Hey what's this?" Michelle screamed as she tried to get it off.  
  
"I think I know!" Ash said as he and Fearow both tried to shake the net off of them.  
  
"Prepare For Trouble!"  
"And Make it Double!"  
  
Team Rocket's balloon flew down from above and hovered over the ledge.  
  
"Hey," Ash interrupted. "don't you guys ever learn?"  
  
Jesse got upset. "Don't you ever interrupt the Team Rocket motto you little pest!" She screeched.  
  
"You aren't in the position to complain now that we really have you where we want you."  
  
"That's right," Meowth agreed with a huge grin.  
  
"That's that you think!" Ash pulled out a Pokeball, squeezed his hand through the net and called out Bulbasaur.  
  
"Bulba."  
  
"Bulbasaur use your razor leaf to get us out of here!" Ash ordered as Bulbasaur released a couple of leaves that sliced up the ropes to the net.  
  
The net fell to the floor.  
  
"Hey, they got out of the net!" Meowth exclaimed.  
  
"Now we'll show ya!" Ash screamed out.  
  
"Wait Ash let me handle this!" Michelle reached for another Pokeball. "I choose you!" Michelle called out as a really adorable electric mouse Pokemon appeared out of its Pokeball.  
  
"Cool! A Raichu!" Ash said.  
  
"Raichu, use your thunder attack!" Michelle ordered as Raichu jumped up and released a huge thunder attack towards Team Rocket.  
  
"Oh no!" Team Rocket screamed out as the electric attack struck them and causing their balloon to explode. The blast from the explosion tossed Team Rocket up in the air.  
  
"You'd think we'd be use to this by now!" Meowth said.  
  
"Maybe we'll have better luck next time!" James said.  
  
"We're blasting off again!" They all called out as they disappeared into the sky.  
  
Ash sighed. "This is getting to be too easy."  
  
Michelle and Ash called back their Pokemon, climbed onto Fearow and flew back down to the tower.  
  
Inside the tower Misty and Brock waited for their friends. They were sitting at the table getting ready to eat the lunch that Brock had prepared.   
  
"You know what Misty." Brock said as they continued their conversation they have been having. "I give up. I don't think that Michelle is really my type anyway."  
  
"Oh really," Misty said sarcastically as Pikachu appeared from the office where it was taking a nap. Brock was being to loud and it couldn't get much sleep so it decided to join them.  
  
"Nah," Brock said. "I know it's going to break her heart when I tell her that it will never work between us." Brock sighed. "But if it has to be done it has to be done."  
  
Misty didn't say anything. She was having a hard time keeping herself from laughing. The door then opened as Ash and Michelle walked in smiling and laughing.   
  
"Hey, you guys look happy!" Misty said as she watched them as they came in and sat at the table with them.  
  
"You guys will never believe what we just experienced." Michelle said as Misty served her a tasty looking sandwich.   
  
"What?" Both Brock and Misty asked.  
  
"Tell them Ash." Michelle winked at Ash.   
  
"We found Mew!" Ash exclaimed, he was about as excited as Michelle was.  
  
Misty, Brock and Pikachu listened as the two told them everything that happened using as much detail as they possibly could.   
  
After the story they continued to talk about it. They couldn't talk about anything else. They talked until it was dark and it was time to get some sleep. It was only a matter of seconds until Brock, Misty and Pikachu fell asleep. Ash was curling up in his sleeping bag when he heard Michelle's voice coming from the dark.   
  
"Ash."  
  
"Yes, Michelle?"  
  
"Thank you for helping me." Michelle whispered to him.  
  
"It was my pleasure." Ash answered back he rolled over in his sleeping back so he could hear her better.  
  
"I had fun these past few days."  
  
"Me too." Ash said.  
  
"Good night Ash." Michelle whispered.  
  
"Good night Michelle." Ash whispered back as he gently closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep. 


	7. Time to Depart

Disclaimer: The characters Ash, Misty, Brock and all of the Pokemon are copyrighted by GameFreak, Nintendo, and Pokemon Inc. I did not create them.  
  
  
  
  
Chapter Seven: Time to Depart  
  
  
Ash, Misty and Brock all woke up early in the morning so they could get an early start. Michelle helped them all pack up their things to they could leave. They all trooped outside once they were all finished.  
  
"Well Misty, Brock. It was really nice to meet you both!" Michelle said as she shook Misty's hand.   
  
Brock walked up to her and kept down. "Farewell, my precious little angel. Parting is such sweet sorrow!"   
  
Misty grabbed him by his backpack and dragged him away. "Good bye Michelle. I hope we'll meet again soon."  
  
Michelle then turned to Ash.  
  
"So are you going to tell the world about Mew?" Ash asked.  
  
"Well," Michelle said. "I thought it all out and I decided that it just wouldn't be right. I mean if word got out that there is a pokemon that lays its eggs up in that mountain that should be extinct then poachers would swarm in and try to catch it." Michelle said as she took a quick glance at the mountain and then back at Ash. "I just can't do it." Michelle looked down at Pikachu who was down by Ash's feet.  
"See ya later Pikachu."   
  
Pikachu just nodded and walked away towards the direction of Brock and Misty.  
  
Ash looked down at his feet. "Well, I guess there isn't much of a chance of you coming with us huh?"  
  
"I'm sorry, Ash. But by place is here. With my family." Michelle answered.  
  
"Well, then I guess this is goodbye." Ash looked up into Michelle's sad eyes.  
  
"Yeah." Michelle said. She leaned over and gave Ash a small kiss on the cheek. "Goodbye." Michelle whispered into his ear.  
  
Ash just smiled. "Good bye Michelle." Ash repeated back as he turned away from her and walked off to where Misty and Brock were waiting for him.  
  
"I hope you have good luck in the Johto league!" Michelle called after them as she waved good bye.  
  
The trio walked through the city. "She sure was a nice girl." Misty said.   
  
"She sure was." Brock agreed.  
  
Ash didn't say anything. He just walked along with his friends as he remembered what he had just experienced during the past few days with his first crush, Michelle, in silence.  
  
  
  
  
--The End--  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Raichu316:  
If you liked this story make sure you read some others that I wrote! :)  
  
PS: Just for Cindlemain--On the way to the Gym in Blackthorn City Brock accidentally trips and falls off a cliff. 


End file.
